Celastrol has been effectively used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases,
asthma, chronic inflammation, and neurodegenerative disease. Under in vitro
conditions, Celastrol was found to inhibit cancer cell proliferation and induce
leukemic cell death; however, the molecular mechanism involved still remains
unclear. (http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/)

Tripterine (celastrol) is a pentacyclic triterpenoid
antioxidant compound
isolated from the Chinese Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.
It has an activity of immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory.
Triterpenes antioxidants
are not common, but tripterine's
antioxidant potency is equivalent to about 15 times that of alpha-tocopherol.

Triptolide, a diterpenoid isolated from the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii
Hook F, has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of a variety of
autoimmune diseases. T helper type 17 (Th17) cells represent a novel subset of
CD4(+) T cells involved in the immunopathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.
Currently, the effects of triptolide on the differentiation of Th17 cells remain
unclear. Here, we found that triptolide significantly inhibited the generation
of Th17 cells from murine splenocytes and purified CD4(+) T cells in a
dose-dependent manner. The suppressive effects of triptolide were persistent
even after it had been removed from cell cultures. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)